1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to a land vehicle storage compartment located under the second or back seat of a land vehicle, and to a door of comparable size located in such a manner to give access to said storage compartment from the outside. A sliding drawer is disposed within.
2. Description Of The Prior Art And Objectives Of The Invention
Pickup trucks have recently seen an explosion in the popularity of extended cabs which have a second seat disposed behind the driver's seat in the passenger compartment or cab. Typically, these extended cabs have a bench seat for other passengers or cargo, located the width of the cab. Such extended cabs may have a third door, or more commonly, the front seats tilt forward to allow access to the back seat.
Utility trucks as used by power and phone companies have frequently had access panels allowing access to storage compartments disposed in the bed and along the sides of the bed of such a truck, but typically such storage compartments have little depth and are not found in the passenger compartment of the truck.
A number of factors must be considered in the design of a truck and specifically the cab. One factor which has received considerable attention in the last several decades is minimization of wind resistance. A substantial percentage of the cost of fuel is spent in overcoming the frictional forces due to wind resistance which act to oppose the motion of the cab. In order to streamline the vehicle, the exterior body of the cab is provided with a smooth, streamlined design. As can be appreciated storage compartments located on utility trucks are not particularly streamlined and result in higher fuel consumption.
The height of a cab is also important. It is desirable to reduce the height of the cab in order to lower wind resistance. It also is desirable to lower the height of the operator seat in order to reduce the height which the driver must ascend in order to operate the vehicle.
While the practice of truck drivers to slip a lunch box or the like under the seat is well known, it is also well known that storage of loose objects in the cab creates the hazard of projectiles in the case of sudden stops or accidents.
Thus, with the problems associated with prior art storage compartments and a need to minimize wind resistance, the present invention was conceived and it is an object herein to provide an improved storage compartment under the second or back seat of a pickup truck.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a storage space which is partitioned from the passenger driving compartment in order to avoid the hazard of projectiles to the operator or passengers.
It is another object of the invention to provide a storage compartment for tools or the like which is included within the cab portion of a truck.
Another object of the invention is to provide a storage compartment which is readily accessible to the operator of the vehicle.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a storage compartment without disadvantageously increasing the height of the cab.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a convenient sliding compartment for tool storage in the cab.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.